Applications open for Citizen Minutes Series 3 – Canada

This is an opportunity for emerging directors to have a fulsome experience with film production, exhibition, distribution, and impact.

Commissioned by Hot Docs, Citizen Minutes is a short doc collection that highlights ordinary Canadians doing extraordinary things to better their communities.

They will be commissioning 5–7 films, less than 8 minutes in length, that explore themes such as resilience, democracy, empathy, empowerment, and fairness, as the subjects work to improve their community’s social and cultural wellbeing. These stories should celebrate and inspire civic engagement—especially among young people.

The opportunity consists of:

• Funding and creative support for films;
• Training in an in-person and online documentary film intensive lab;
• Short film premiere at Hot Docs Festival 2025;
• Educational package and circulation in schools;
• Participation and training in an impact and engagement campaign.

The successful applicants will direct their short films with the support of a seasoned creative and business producer (or producers) selected by Hot Docs.

This cohort of successful applicants will participate in an in-person filmmaker lab in the early summer 2024. A new addition to the Citizen Minutes program, the lab is designed to support career growth through a diverse curriculum and invaluable network-building opportunities.

The third installment of Citizen Minutes films will premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2025, at a special promotional event. Filmmakers will receive an All-IN industry all-access pass to the Festival. The films will later be distributed and exhibited across Canada, with select shorts also submitted to other festivals.

Hot Docs will work with the filmmakers and seasoned impact producers to activate an impact and engagement strategy around the films, with the goal of using the films as tools for positive change in educational, community, and professional settings. The full series will also become a core part of Docs for Schools, Hot Docs’ educational program providing documentary content to support curricula for students (grades 5-12) across Canada. As such, they are particularly interested in stories that centre youth-led civic engagement.

Eligibility Criteria

• They actively encourage and are prioritizing applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to the groups listed below:
  • First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and all other Indigenous peoples;
  • members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, colour, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
  • persons who are disabled or neurodiverse;
  • persons who are Francophone.
• Applicants must:
  • Be the (co)director(s) attached to the film project;
  • Be Canadian citizens or permanent residents;
  • Have at least one prior filmmaking credit (short films accepted).
  • There is a maximum of two projects per applicant.

Ineligible

• The following are not eligible:
  • Projects produced as course work for any school or institute;
  • Projects that are part of an existing series;
  • Fiction films;
  • Completed films (they will consider projects with some development or production work already completed, provided all rights are available and can be assigned to Hot Docs).

For more information, visit Hot Docs.